Change Can Be Good - If You Let It by Gidget Giardino

Ever thought you'd just wish things were like they used to be? Here are some great tips for dealing with change. Change can be good. 

By Marsha Egan

Almost every day, I hear someone remark how fast the world is changing - and it's true. It's almost unrecognizable from our parents' days, and even from the world we grew up in.

We live in a world far more touched by a constant state of change than any generation which has gone before us. Global communication and sharing of ideas combined with ever-increasing technology has given us a world that moves incredibly fast. Add to that the increasing world population, increased global competition and the pressure we all have on profits, and we have a world with its foot stuck firmly on the gas pedal!

Mind you, it's almost certain that the current break-neck speed at which our world turns is the slowest rate of change we'll ever have; things can only speed up even further from here - pretty scary, isn't it?

Just to reinforce this, the compounding reality is that there's nothing any of us can do to slow the rate of change - whether we like it or not, the roller coaster is here to stay!

The more change we have to deal with, the greater is the potential for us to feel stressed out. People are, by their very nature, resistant to change. We have our routines and our idiosyncrasies, and we hate to be taken outside our 'comfort zones'. How many times have you heard a colleague say 'well, we've always done it that way', or refer to how something worked 'last time'? When we have to mix things up a little, people get uncomfortable, so it's understandable that this can create stress.

Even changes that improve people's lives can create stress. For example, when someone gets a promotion and has to move to a new city, they not only have to deal with all of the changes to their new responsibilities at work, with a new boss, new relationships and new knowledge; their family must also deal with the changes involved in moving to a new neighborhood -- new schools, new neighbors, new places to shop, new doctor, the list can be endless. While the overall result is a positive change, all these things almost certainly add pressure to a person's home and professional life.

Given the fact that we can't slow the rate of change down, what CAN we do?

The answer lies in our own ability to change from within - the way we handle or react to change. If you can't change what we don't like, there are only two things you can do. You can elect not to be part of the thing you don't like (which in this case simply isn't going to work!), or you change your attitude towards it.

Here are some ideas for how you might accomplish this:

- Find the benefits of the changes you are experiencing. Think of ways you can use those changes to make your life easier. Try to avoid fighting the change, and find ways to make it work for you. It's much easier to 'go with the flow'!

- Focus on learning to work with the change. The more you focus on 'getting a handle on it', the faster it'll be second-nature.

- Think things through. When confronted with change, look at it as if it's a chess game, when you need to think through the several moves in advance rather than just one. A lot of the time we create a stressful situation by making a judgement call without considering what the consequences will be.

- Keep open mind, and a positive attitude. Finding fault with a new idea or dismissing it is easy, but the better our attitude to it, the less of a chore it will be. As an added bonus, staying positive will have a positive effect on your career and relationships - no-one wants to be around a negative person!

- Recognize that change can be stressful. Accept that fact and give yourself permission to feel uncomfortable at the beginning.

- Helping those around you get used to the change will give you a better understanding of the change itself, will minimize the stressful side of it, as well as impacting well on your relationships.

"I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." is a quote from the classic poem 'Invictus', although most people remember it more as a line from the film 'Casablanca'. Take ownership of your own attitude. You'll only feel stressed if you allow stress into your life. By controlling your attitude, and your emotional responses, you will give yourself the best chance of getting the most out of change, and minimizing your stres's levels.

Sure, change can hurt. But it is here to stay. The people and organizations who seek out the positives and embrace change will be the ones who see the most benefit from it. Will you be one of them?

About The Author Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC is CEO of The Egan Group, Inc., a Reading, PA based professional coaching firm. She is a certified workplace productivity coach and professional speaker, specializing in leadership development

Dream Grand Dreams Only by Gidget Giardino

 Pay attention to your dreams; the ones you are conscious of and the ones you aren't conscious of.  If it is true that we are what we think about most, we had better start paying very close attention, and, only let in what our hearts truly desire. 




by Daniel Wood

If you are interested in personal development you have probably heard Brian Tracy’s words, “You are what you think about most of the time”. 

It is true, by thinking about something enough you push it into your subconscious, your mental computer that works 24 hours a day.

Dreams are your window to the mental computer
When you dream your conscious turns off, giving you a view of what is going on in your subconscious. 

You most important work will be done when you sleep. Your mind will be working without your conscious getting in the way, it will be solving problems you don’t even know you have and present your with solutions you didn’t realise your needed.


What you think becomes what you dream
Your dreams mirror your thoughts. It is your subconscious.
By pushing a message into your subconscious it will be a part of your dreams. But to get something into your subconscious takes effort. You need to think about it constantly, write it down, visualize it, repeat it to yourself and almost become obsessed by it.

You are what you dream
Once you have pushed your thoughts into your subconscious you will start dreaming about solutions.
You will then start to see changes in the world around you and before long you will become what you have dreamed about.
In shorter time then you can imagine you can do extra ordinary things.

If you have read “Think and Grow Rich” By Napoleon Hill, he shares this advice in his book and shows examples of how some of the most successful men and women have changed their lives and gone from rags to riches in just a short matter of time.

Change your mental programming
Most of us have a knack for dwelling on the negative, the danger of this is that you will be pushing this into your subconscious, making your mental computer work on solutions to give you even more greif.
If you are to succeed you have to change your mental programming, you have to become a more positive person, focusing on the good and on solutions.
This can be done in mainly 2 ways.

Affirmations
Keep repeating positive messages to yourself throughout the day, for example a cure for low self-esteem is to repeat over and over again hundreds of time a day “I like myself, I like myself”. A solution for low work moral is “I love my work”. If you want to rekindle the romance in a relationship it can be enough to repeat to yourself day in and day out “I love my wife/partner”.

 This will push it into your subconscious and your will start finding solutions to make it reality.

Goal Setting
The other way is by clearly stating your goals in writing. When you have your goals in writing it becomes easier to dwell upon them. You can spend time reading them every day. You can write down plans, think about ideas and so on. 

All this will push your goals deaper into your subconscious and help you speed up your success.

Conclusion
Getting your subconscious working on your goals will bring you closer to success because your subconscious works on solutions 24 hours/day every day.

It will present you with new ideas, insights and plans. 
Remember that the most important thing is that you act on these ideas and insights, because no plan ever mattered that wasn’t put into action.

A Wonderful Thing by Gidget Giardino

Isn't it a wonderful thing that we're all different? Each of us has strengths and skills to share. And when we link our individual strengths together, we're invincible.

Because of the truly special and spectacular people in my life, I am blessed beyond anything I could ever wish for. All of my successes in life were made possible by the loving, caring relationships that were built. A person is never successful alone. It takes the help of those around us. 

Today, take a moment to recognize your successes, and give thanks to those who stood by you, gave a helping hand, whispered words of encouragement, or just simply believed in you. Thank them for being part of your success.

Get On Your Way

One of my favorite authors of all time, Jack Canfield, wrote this article.  His easy to read and understand way of writing make him one of the most successful coaches. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Get On Your Way by Jack Canfield

Starting toward your goals is up to you. No one can hold your hand and take you to your goal safely. No one can take every step with you and make sure you do not have any struggles. You must take responsibility for what you want and you must begin.

Beginning need not be scary. It is as simple as making a few decisions. Will you decide what you want for yourself? You do not have to decide how it will all come about; you only need to decide what it is you want for your life. How do you want to be living? You must also decide what your first step will be. Will it be signing up for more education or training? Will it be making a list of people to talk to? Will it be getting a new job, or even a second part-time job in the field you want to be in?

Come up with the first action you will take and take it! Just jump in and figure out each step to take next. Once you start, keep your eyes and ears open to the possibilities. Energy in motion stays in motion. Just keep taking steps. Learn as you go. Find out what you can do right now and do it. If you need to learn how to do the next thing before you can do it, then the next step is to learn it!

Be willing to ask questions and be rejected and feel your fears. Allow yourself to be human just like everyone else. Ask for help from people who can help you. Learn how others are doing it and practice what they do. The main thing is to begin.

When you begin, you set the cycle of cause and effect into play. You cannot possibly know all that will come about as you set off for your desired lifestyle. But as you take your steps, there are things happening behind the scenes, and opportunities will unfold before you when you are ready for them. Your horizon will shift into focus as you approach your goals and then change into another distant prize for you to keep marching toward. You cannot see all that can be yours from just one viewpoint.

Acknowledge your present state of happiness even if your life isn’t all that you hope it will be. Just be grateful now and keep our sights set on being grateful. Open yourself to accept new beliefs about yourself and what you can accomplish, and you will find yourself accomplishing them. Be grateful then, too. Because as you grow and develop yourself you will always be creating new goals to improve your life; it is important not to wait for that “perfect” life before you are grateful to be living.

Keep yourself inspired and motivated. Get a mentor or personal coach, a group to be accountable to, an audio program and books to keep your internal fire lit. Surround yourself with positive energy, especially from within, and make the changes you need to in your life.

Visualize your success every day. Pay attention to your habits. Decide every day to take more steps toward improvement. Make your life a wonderful adventure that you are fully engaged in!

You Are Not Dead Yet. by Gidget Giardino

Remember being a little kid. It was Saturday morning that thrilled us. We'd jump out of bed and run to the television (they were HUGE back then) and put on cartoons. Saturday was the only day of the week they were on and it was only on in the morning. We would not miss them for the world!

Now, jump ahead in time to present day and think about how different it is. You can literally find cartoons on any hour of the day or night with cable, satellite or Internet. We are in an age of instant gratification. It is exciting! No longer do you have to wait to watch cartoons. In that same sense most people can have what ever they want because technology, innovation and willpower have given us so much freedom.

The question of the day is: What have you done with your freedom?

Today you can decide to go out and watch a movie, or visit with friends, or stay in bed, or just about anything else you could think of. But did you? Today you can decide to become a millionaire, or end world hunger, or change a persons life for the better. But will you?

When you were a kid you had big dreams. Did you make your dreams come true? You know, the dreams you had when you were a kid running for the TV on Saturday morning? The majority of you will answer this question with a big fat NO. The thing about it is, it doesn't matter if you didn't make your dreams come true. Because you are not dead. You just haven't made your dreams come true. YET!